Silas Marner by George Eliot- rambling sub-plot but beautifully managed fairy-story-like main narrative

Die of Shame by Mark Billingham- as tense as you could wish for, but seeking "authenticity" through elements I found seedy

The Lie by Helen Dunmore- ultimately average- disappointing

I've just started our old friend on here's signature novel- My Kind of Justice by Col Bury. It tends to confirm one of the sayings I've made up myself- "nothing good ever came out of Manchester". Seldom was something so true, until someone persuades me otherwise- and I don't mean Terry Christian or the Gallagher brothers. However, I have to concede that I have two associates from my younger life who probably still live there!

In case Col reads this, I must add an anecdote attributed to the former Man United football manager, Tommy Docherty-

I also made a point of reading David Walliams' children's book "Billionaire Boy" recently. There were interesting reviews on Amazon about the judgment of tone and the way he portrays female characters.

P.S. The budgie, in his paper on penal reform states that Wilde, Oscar's poem 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' was an influence on those who decided to abolish the death penalty.Further Reading;Publisher; Squawk InkAuthor; Beady, Beak-PlumeTitle; Justice; Avian Ideas, 1948-2000